William lawson van harlingen



(No Model.) I

W. L. VAN HARLINGEN READY REFERENCE FILL. 4 I No. 522,171. Patented June 26, 1894.

Wdmeooaa NNNNNNNNNNNNN uoaruwuma COMPANY.

UNIT D STATES" PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM LAWSON VAN HARLINGEN, OF OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA.

, READY-REFERENCE FILE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 522,171, dated June 26, 1894.

Application filedNovemher 9, 1893. Serial No. 490,478. (No model.)

. ready-reference-file; and has for one of its objects the preservation of physicians prescrlptlons and other like papers in compact form and ,1n such numerical and other arrangement as will render practical the ready reference to any desired paper.

Another object of' my invention is to provide means for exposing to view for'the time being only that particularone of the papers filed to which there may be occasion to refer,

thus guarding against the confusion anderror always liable to occur when a large number of papers are under the eye at one timeas, for instance, when a person may be refilling a prescription that is pasted beside a number of other prescriptions upon a page which exposes all at once.

Another object of my invention is to provide means for so noting the price of each prescription or the amount of the transaction or transactions to which each particular paper refers that such notation may not only serve its purpose in so far as relates to its own particular paper, but may, by the simple act of filing the paper, be brought into line with the notations of price or amount on the other filed papers, thus rendering the amount of the current volume of business, cash and gredit, readily determinable simply by addiion.

Another object of my invention is to provide means whereby the pharmacist may record in his current file all business done in refilling prescriptions, together with the amount of such business, in dollars and cents, the charged and paid business being kept separate, and the aniount of each carried forward from file to file as one file after another becomes filled with prescriptions and is laid away. By this means the sum of thepharmacists prescription business for the expired portion of any given period, as for a year, for instance, will be kept in hand, and can be referred to at any time.

My invention will first be described in connection with the accompanying drawings, and

spread out flat, showing on one side the prescriptions attached to the backing, and on the opposite side a blank ruled sheet for entering and keeping record of all refilled prescriptions. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of one of the backings removed, showing a blank ruled sheet to which the prescriptions are attached after being filled. Fig. 3 is a plan view of a prescription-blank, omitting unnecessary printed matter. Fig. 4 is abroken edgeview of the backing and attached blanks, showing the points at which the latterare attached.

Referring to the drawings, A and B designate respectively the front and back covers of a file, which covers may be made of any suitable material, but preferably of cardboard,'and secured together either at their sides or ends by means of cloth hinges, a cord, or by any other form of fastening device. In this instance but two of the covers or backings are shown as connected; but it is to be understood that any desired number may be so connected-as, for instance, the backings containing the prescriptions and the record of the refilled prescriptions for a certain period, say one year. By this means a complete record of a whole years perscription trade may be kept in acompact form, and in such a man nor as to be readily accessible when needed for reference.

On the inner surface of backingA is secured a sheet 0 having a series of horizon-' backing of a total-footing strip, hereinafter mentioned. Not all of the sheet 0 is provided with the ruled lines 1, there being a blank spaceb at the lower end, of a length somewhat less than that of the prescription blank, so that when one of said blanks is attached to the sheet on the lowest horizontal line the lower edge of the blank will just overlap the upper edge of the total-footing strip so as to cover the designation Amt. forward on said strip, as shown in Fig. 1. The entire horizontally-ruled surface of sheet 0 is gummed, in order to facilitate the attachment thereto of the prescriptions or other papers, such arrangement being preferable to the gumming of each separate paper; but it is to be understood that, if desired, the gummed 'sheet 0 may be dispensed with and the backing A be similarly ruled and gummed.

Below the sheet O and extending parallel with the lower edge of the cover (or the side, as the case may be) is attached or printed what I term a total-footing strip D, provided with a series of vertical lines 3, between which are entered the total cash values of the prescriptions filed on one sheet of the file. On theleft-hand side of the strip D are printed the words Amt. forward, and below the words Prescriptions charged. On the righthand side of the said strip are printed the words Amt. forward; and below, the words Prescriptions paid.

In order to understand clearly the function of the strip D, it will be necessary to describe the prescription-blank and its manner of attachment to the file in order to cause it to coact with the said strip.

Extending parallel with and near the bottom of the prescription-blank all of said blanks being of the same dimensions, is a line 4:, below which is a number of vertical lines 5, these being so spaced that when the prescriptions are filed the lines 5 will align with the lines 3 of the strip D, thus forming a series of practically continuous vertical columns extending throughout the series of prescriptions filed. On the left-hand side of the prescription-blank is entered the number of the prescription; between the lines 5 on that side, the cost of the prescription if charged; and between the lines of the righthand side, the cost if paid. It will thus be readily seen that when a file is completed it is only necessary to cast up the debit and credit columns and enter the sum total in its respective place on the total-footing strip D to have a complete record of the amount of business done; and by carrying the sums total over to the next succeeding file and entering them in upper portion of the blank is then moistened, and the upper edge is laid parallel with one of the lines 1, with its left-hand side in line with the guide-line 2.

In filling a sheet or backing with prescriptions, the first prescription is attached so that its upper edge aligns with the lowest hori zontal line 1, the next prescription filed aligning with the line next above, and so on. The distance of the line 4c on the prescription blank from the bottom thereof being equal to the space a between the lines 1, it 1s obvious that when the prescriptions are filed, as above described, that portion of the prescription below line 4 will show below the prescription next filed, thus leaving the necessary data always in view.

In Fig. l, the file is shown with a number of prescriptions rolled back so as to expose one of them for reference. In order to hold the prescriptions back in the position shown, a cord or band E is employed, which is attached to the two ends of the backing and exerts a pressure on those prescriptions that are turned back, as will be perfectly obvious, and, when not employed for this purpose it serves to hold the filed prescriptions smoothly in place.

Thus far the description has been given of the manner of attaching the prescriptions 111 place and of keeping an account of the total number filed. But it is obvious that in order to keep an exact account of the business done in a given time, provision must be made whereby to debit and credit prescriptions that have been refilled; and in order to 3.0-

complish this I furnish the backing B with a sheet F, provided with suitably-ruled lines 6, between which may be entered the date of the refilled prescriptions, their numbers and cost, whether charged or paid. Across the top of the sheet F are entered the words Prescriptions refilled; and below, in suitable spaces, the words Date, No, Charged, and Paid. The sheet F, in conjunction with the total-footing strip, will enable a person unskilled in bookkeeping to ascertain with exactness the amount of refilling business transacted in a given time, without necessitating the employment of a regular set of books such as are in common use.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new. and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- 1. A ready-reference file comprising a backing havinga series of horizontally-ruled lines, that portion of the backing thus ruled being gummed, a blank space below said lines, vertically-ruled debit and credit spaces below the blank space, and a seriesof loose numbered blanks having vertically-ruled debit and credit spaces on their lower edges, said blanks when filled being-designed to be successively so attached to said backing that the debit and credit spaces of one blank will align respectively with those of another and also with the debit and credit spaces on the backing.

2. A ready-reference file comprising a backing, a sheet secured at the upper side of said backing and having a series of horizontallyruled lines, that portion of the sheet thus ruled being gummed, and a blank space below said lines, a total-footing strip having vertically-ruled debit and credit spaces attached to said backing below said sheet, and a series of loose blanks having verticallyruled debit and credit spaces on their lower edges, said blanks when filled being designed to be successively so attached to said gummed sheet that the debit and credit spaces of one blank will align respectively with those of another and also with thedebit and credit spaces on the total-footing strip.

3. A ready-reference file comprising a backing havinga series of horizontally-ruled lines, that portion of the backing thus ruled being gum med, a blank space below said lines, vertically-ruled debit and credit spaces below said blank space, a vertical guide-line at one side of the horizontally-ruled lines, and a series of loose blanks having vertically-ruled debit and credit spaces near their lower edges, said blanks being designed when filled to be successively so attached to said backing that the debit and credit spaces of one blank will align respectively with those of another and also with the debit and credit spaces on the backing.

4. A ready-reference file comprising a back- I ing having a series of horizontally-ruled lines,

that portion of the backing thus ruled being gummed, a blank space below said lines, ver tically-ruled debit and credit spaces below the blank space, a series of loose blanks having vertically-ruled debit and credit spaces on their lower edges, said blanks when filled being designed to be successively so attached to the backing that the debit and credit spaces of one blank will align respectively with those of another and also with the" debit and credit spaces on the backing, and a band passed vertically around or along the face of the said backing for the purpose specified.

5. A ready-reference file comprising a backing having a series of horizontally-ruled.lines,

that portion of the backing thus ruled being gummed, a blank space below said line, vertically-ruled debit and credit spaces below the blank space, a series of loose blanks having vertically-ruled debit and credit spaces on their lower edges, said blanks when filled being designed to be successively so attached to the backing that the debit and credit spaces of one blank will align with those of another and also with the debit and credit spaces on the backing, and a cover flexibly attached to the backing and having on its inner surface date, number, and debit and credit spaces.

6. A ready-reference file comprising a backin g having a series of horizontally-ruled lines, that portionof the backing thus ruled being gummed, a blank space below said lines, vertically-ruled debit and credit spaces below said blank space, a vertical guide-line at one side of the horizontally-ruled lines, a series of loose blanks having vertically-ruled debit and credit spaces on their lower edges, said blanks when filled being designed to be successively so attached to said backing that the debit and credit spaces of one blank will align respectively with those of another and also with the debit and credit spaces on the backing, a band passed vertically around or over the face of the backing, and a cover flexibly attached to the backing and having on its inner surface date, number, and debit and credit spaces.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM LAWSON VAN IIARLINGEN. Witnesses:

G. S. MARTIN, G. M. PRATI-IER. 

